Twists and Turns
by Ifere
Summary: Life doesn't always turn out how people expect. Various characters thoughts on how things are going at different points in time. Eventual DxE.


Standard disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

Sam

Life is good. I'm 20 years old, going through college and dating the love of my life. He's the world's half-ghost hero, Danny Phantom, also aged 20. Though all his time in ghost form has made him look 17 still. Ghosts don't age and ghost halves don't either. Personally, I can live with that. Tucker, on the other hand, might be a bit jealous again. That'll last until he realises Danny doesn't get to spend the rest of his life with me. Hey, I said I could live with it, I'm not sure what Danny will do. A lot could happen between now and then.

College is fun. Busy, but fun. Double majoring in ecological and business studies will do that. A lot of people think that's a strange combination, but a lot of people are idiots. Other than ghost hunting that was the main lesson I learned from my early high school career. I want to change the world and I know that takes money. I'm idealistic, not naïve. I might be rich, but money disappears quickly. Again, not naïve. Tucker is double majoring as well, in computer science and politics. Before the disasteroid we never would have seen that coming. Once he got the hang of it he made a very good mayor. People wonder how we manage when we're so busy, but it's simple, really. We're both driven to succeed and have things to prove. To ourselves, mostly. Spending your teen years saving the world gives a person high standards.

Unsurprisingly, Danny is the best example of that. With his secret out he had the chance to make his schooling more flexible and did well. He might be clueless, but he's not an idiot. Then his Fenton family obsession kicked in and that was it. Everyone thinks it's to save people, to be the hero. If that was the case he wouldn't have tried to stop so many times. Or at all, It would have been to be an astronaut, but the accident put an end to that possibility, He's been as far as humans can get him anyway. In the end, it became proving he could make a success of himself without Vlad. The man had a lasting effect on Danny, being the only other half-ghost. When our university wouldn't let him take enough classes he signed up as both Fenton and Phantom. Ironically he passes all his classes in physics, chemistry, engineering and business - with me - with the same non-evil qualities Vlad used: Intelligence, focus and duplication. The head-start he got learning from his parents helped too. Hey, he had to distract them from running experiments on him somehow. And yes, they taught him business as well. Do you have any idea how good at that sort of thing you had to be to get funding for paranormal research before they opened their portal?

The other effect of Danny's obsession was training. He took up traveling to Pandora's realm for help. He chose her for his parents. They took his being Phantom well, but over two decades of hating something takes a while to get over. Having them interpret his words as "I'm going to improve myself with the greek warrior who traps evil" was preferable to "I'm going to spend time with a putrid, stinking ghost instead of you". Of course, Tucker and I spent a lot of time training because of that. We wouldn't let him go without us and you don't tell a 20 foot tall, four-armed ghost you're just there to watch. Even if Tucker tried. He got over it eventually, when he found out being smart, the mayor and ripped was finally enough to get girls over his horrible pick-up lines. It helped me with the ladies as well. Namely, the Phangirls. I heard him turning one down once. In his words, what I have that she didn't was "brains, looks, the ability to shoot a ghost from 300 yards with an ectoblaster and kick her over the nearest building from a standing start while doing it".

We've spent a lot of time invisible to avoid the shallow little witches. And the press. The number of times I've had to tell my mom that no, I'm not pregnant... lets just say it stopped being funny after about 50. While Danny has learned shape-shifting, it doesn't cover other people, obviously. He loves shape-shifting. It's great for hiding, get-aways, and pranks. Oh, God, the pranks. The only other ghost he knows with that power would have to be the only joker as bad as he is. You can imagine how the lessons went. Well, if you live in a room with padded walls, maybe. He loves that power almost as much as flying. Not nearly as much as me, though. He makes sure to tell me that when he changes back into himself, after sneaking into wherever our dates happen to be. He's his parent's son, so he needs reminding to stop obsessing and go eat, but he never forgets a date.

Life is good.

Jack

The last decade has been interesting. Ghost research, Jazzy-pants getting married and fudge. Lots and lots of fudge. Danny just wasn't the same, though. Losing the woman you hunt ghosts with will do that to you. Especially if you're only 20. She died in his arms after saving a kid during a ghost animal attack. She was happy that the kid was OK. The rest of the world was surprised that the college student daughter of a rich family genuinely cared that much, but I wasn't. She was dating a Fenton, there was no way she wasn't a great woman.

Danny was so devastated he swore off going ghost, unless there was a major emergency. He had his hunting and studies to keep up with so he still makes copies. He has one on patrol almost 24/7. Maddie says he only came back to helping me in the lab because I looked like a lost puppy whenever he'd say no. He even sends copies to visit his ghost friends. He says it's really impolite not to go in person, but they understand. Fentons always have the best friends. Well, except for Vladdie. They would come visit him, but there are laws against that.

The portal's at his place now. He bought it right out of college with money he made from inventing things with me and Mads. The only time he goes in person is Christmas. Apparently there's a party, and all the ghosts go. His friends might not get insulted, but his enemies will. After the party he hangs out with this kid ghost he knows that adults can't see. He stays all day to play with him, so that he stays childlike enough to see him. And to make sure the sugar rush wears of before the rocker ghost girl comes for him. She threatened to kill him if he ever left her to deal with that again.

That's what he says, anyway. I might not be the best at knowing what's going on, but I see the way he misses Sam when everyone gets together. Most people think Fenton men are clueless, but I had that class ring engraved for a reason. He always spent part of Christmas with Sam and Tucker.

The three of them are really respected by the ghosts. At the time, a lot of them came by to give condolences. Even now, Danny's enemies give him a few days of peace on the anniversary. The hunter gives him a week. One day out of respect and the rest out of fear of what would happen if he interrupted while Danny was grieving.

He started his own company. Jazz started her own practice. Since she wasn't married yet, now there's two more buildings with the name Fenton on them! They're still really close. Even with his secret out, there are things he'll only tell Jazz and Tucker. Oh, yeah. Jazz made me promise to say not professionally. Turns out there are rules about that for shrinks like her.

One good thing came out of Danny being Phantom. Now I can blather on about ghosts and my family all at once!

Tucker

I really don't like politics or business. I just can't leave the first to some stranger who might be an idiot or worse, and the second is necessary to do what I want to do. I guess this is how Danny felt all those years ago when he had to fight ghosts secretly. He doesn't like the business side of his work either, but it lets us build whatever we want. We're in the loop of the most high-tech advances and have vast funds. We need them, too.

We often collaborate on projects both professional and private. We spend almost as much time together as when we were younger. We also have our ghost hunting duties where we're still a team. That's the one that needs the money. Satellite grids don't make themselves, you know. Yes, we have one of those. We upgraded some original Fenton ghost detection gear and put it in orbit. We made them intangible with the help of some GIW suits we, ahem, acquired the schematics for so they don't hit anything. That's important, since they're hidden. We have a long history of doing things we shouldn't be and decided that would be easier than asking permission. Or telling anyone at all. We don't need people knowing when our friends or allies make illegal visits.

They use our own programming language only the two of us know. Danny got them into space with a modified version of Valerie's armor and sled. All tools instead of weapons. He needs it too. I normally stick to the computer and electronic side of things while some of his experiments tend to blow up. That and Christmas. Getting around the Zone without flight powers would be tricky otherwise. Damn, I miss Sam.

She never got to meet my family. She would have loved them. She would have loved joining in the teasing when the kids were born about taking better care of them than all my previous "babies". She would have loved watching me get -surprisingly good- relationship advice from "Clueless 1". She would have loved his heartwarming-and-so-embarrassing-I-almost-died best man speech. He insists I refer to it that way as a sign of respect for an ancient art form. She probably would have been just as successful as me and Danny but still argued with me about meat. Everything with our names attached to it does well. We still make sure it's all good, of course. Aside from our pride, we don't want to arrive in the afterlife to a beatdown from Sam and need to set a good example for the younger Foleys. They're going to have to learn from their Aunt Sam's example through stories, but there will never be a shortage of those.

You know, even at almost forty, it's still strange to me that Danny's the happy third wheel.

Jazz

I've got to say, my life's been interesting so far. Turned out almost exactly how I always imagined, but I wanted it this way because it interested me. I'm married, I have kids, grandkids, I'm a highly respected psychologist and I still help out my half ghost little brother. OK, that last part wasn't in the plan, but you get the idea.

Even at fifty he still hasn't dated since Sam. A lot of people think it's romantic. I think it's a failing of mine that he still hasn't gotten over her. I'm very good at what I do and I haven't reached him in thirty years. He's a strange guy these days. Don't get me wrong, he was never exactly normal, and yes, I will admit to being a little biased. What sibling ever is?

The thing is, while he acts like you would expect in business meetings and such, he doesn't always anywhere else. He has a strangely large video game collection for a rich corporate mogul. He still makes time to play them, too. The same goes for his library of loud, fast music. I mentioned the dating, despite all attempts by Tucker and I. He gets together with Amorpho every April 1st to prank everyone. He has deals with various ghosts to get out the Zone and do their thing, as long as it doesn't cause trouble. Not that many people know that. He pulls pranks the rest of the year too. I'd think he's having a mid-life crisis with the way he acts like he's still in college sometimes, but he's been doing this since then.

It's strange, really. I spent so much time when he was fourteen trying to get him to be a kid and admit his feelings for Sam. Now it's almost the complete opposite. He tells me he's OK, but I see the look like he's missing something when he's with his nieces and nephews; when he wonders what his and Sam's kids would have looked like. He was never one to tell me everything, so I guess I'll never know what's really going on. Maybe it's a ghost power thing.

He doesn't like me worrying, but I'll always be concerned for my baby brother.

Ember

So, there I am, flying through the Ghost Zone, minding my own business, when I see Danny Phantom and Pandora having a fight. Of course, I stopped to watch. The amazon and her favourite student having a serious battle is not the sort of thing you see every day, you know. Much as I was there for the carnage, even I had to wonder what was going on. Phantom isn't the kind of guy to beat up on a friend and even if Pandora has a short temper she's not like that either. Most ghosts thought she was until recently, but having others visit her realm to train Dipstick did wonders for her social life.

I got the surprise of my afterlife when Babypop took a full-force hit and survived. As strong as he is, not even his copies could take that much punishment. Something was bad enough to bring him out in person after more than three decades. Something that made him fight an ally. A close friend, even. Obviously, I got closer. Even if he wasn't an ally of mine by then I still would have needed to know more. What? He got training for his powers and the ancient greek fighting style Pandora taught him is brutal. Skulker only had to limp home with craters in his armor so many times before I saw how pointless trying again would be. Besides, he let me tour as long as I didn't brainwash anyone.

I could hear him trying to talk her out of fighting, but she wasn't responding. At all. I had enough experience mind controlling people to know what was going on. I also saw that every time she got a good hit a strange ripple travelled through Dipstick's body. He wasn't fighting back at full force, because he's the good guy, so of course he wasn't. Right up until she launched him into a nearby rock with a double fisted hit and his transformation rings appeared.

I was expecting to see a slightly above average hight, greying in a distinguished sort of way, older but not old yet man. What I saw instead was a black haired teenager I hadn't seen in a long time. He scowled, changed back to ghost form and somehow aged himself. Then he apologised in advance and froze Pandora solid, before slapping some sense into her, literally. He asked what happened and I was just deciding it was time to leave. Before I could, Pandora left and as soon as she was out of sight Bapypop collapsed.

I really don't know what came over me for what I did next.

Danny

I was quite surprised to wake up in Ember's lair. We weren't enemies anymore but I'd still never been there. Then she heard me groaning, floated over and gave me the "you're not going anywhere until you talk" look. Needless to say I groaned some more. If there's one thing I know beyond a doubt, it's that I'm not lucky enough for the only question to be why she found me unconscious in the Ghost Zone. Also known as the one lesson life repeats before I get the chance to forget it. Of course, she'd seen the whole thing. What's a world famous half ghost hero to do when asked about the one secret even his best friend and sister don't know?

I told her. Hey, you try keeping something like this to yourself for so long and see how you feel when you get someone to talk to. I told her that I received a message something was wrong with Pandora. I told her I sent a dupe to check things out. I told her how she destroyed it. I told her how that got me to come into the Zone. I told her that after the fight Pandora explained how something she was putting in the box for causing other ghosts to go on the rampage got her just as she was closing the lid. I told her Pandora doesn't remember what happened after that. I told her I'd actually been in ghost form since Sam died and using my shape-shifting powers to hide my lack of aging.

The look on her face would have been hilarious if I wasn't so relieved to get that off my chest. Then she attacked me.

Ghosts tend to miss being alive. Spending my whole life as a ghost was a little offensive. And Lancer's lectures where a little boring. I miss Lancer. He was a good guy when he wasn't playing favourites. Anyway, when I got her to stop swinging her guitar I asked which was our third meeting. Then I had to get her to answer the question and stop trying to find out what that had to do with anything. She's a stubborn girl you know. It took her about a second to count up to the third one and tell me. That's the thing, you see. It happened a little over forty years before but she still remembered all our encounters. In order. A ghost might only recall as much detail about what happened five minutes ago as a human would, but they'll still know those details a century from now. The Fright Knight was willing to risk betraying Pariah because he remembered exactly what serving him was like. I asked him once. I don't advise anyone else to.

Ember of all ghosts understood. I loved someone once, it didn't end well, now I'm a ghost. Even if it's not for quite the same reason as her.

Ember

After I found out his secret me and Babypop started hanging out. He appreciated having someone to do teenaged things with and let down his disguise. It was a good one, I'll admit. Even when he'd been treating Youngblood like a little brother every year at Christmas. Not that it wasn't funny watching a guy apparently old enough to be his grandfather act like that.

I was surprised to find out he plays a few instruments. He learned the drums when he decided misplaced aggression wasn't healthy stress relief any longer. It was his techo-geek friend's idea. I'm told his sister suggested yoga. Yeah. I'd have never taken him seriously again either.

He spent years having multiple duplicates almost constantly and has a hard time not doing several things at once, so he picked up a few more after that. He can be his own band now. Although he can only play guitar in ghost form. Something about speed healing too slow to keep going and too fast to get calluses. Not that he's tested that ability recently. Or plans to.

Turns out for being clueless Dipstick actually has a way with women. I found that out when he asked me what happened between me and Skulker. I explained I dumped his worthless butt when he went hunting for Babypop instead of coming to my concert. He looked apologetic and said "oh". That was it. I was expecting him to launch into a thousand sorrys, so I asked him why he hadn't. He told me all Fenton men have some skills for dealing with the ladies that they grow into. That Clockwork once told him he was the least clueless man in his family for seventy-three generations. What that means is that seventy two men even denser than him managed to reproduce. All their wives were happily married, too. Being lovers and fighters they can't usually think things through all the way, no matter how much of a genius they might be. It actually explained a lot about his parents.

Anyway, he explained that apologizing would have drawn attention to himself and made the moment about him, getting me angry, so he didn't. There's a simple method of getting out of awkward situations like that one without a fight. All his male relatives know it or they'd have been dead long ago from being forced to choke on their own feet. Apparently whether or not to say sorry is rule two, behind say as little as possible and before wait for anger to fade then change the subject. Which he demonstrated by telling me about teaching this to Tucker so that I was too busy laughing to be insulted until after he left. I had to accept he had a point after that.

Over time he seemed to get happier. I guess being himself sometimes was good for him.

Danny

I talked about a lot of private stuff with Ember back then. I didn't have anyone else who knew about me. That and practice my guitar. I'm quite good now. I'm not amazingly talented or anything, but Ember takes it as a personal insult to only be OK at playing. The two of us were getting along like a house on fire. As long as her hair wasn't setting my house on fire. I had a lot of memories in that house.

Well, one day, she up and asks me why I don't date a ghost. I'd told her once one of the reasons I didn't date is I'm a lot younger than other people my age. Not the main reason, but she knew that. Jazz and Tuck were seriously getting old by then. I still have the photo of her face when I told her it was almost time to fake my death. I wasn't planning to hang around there forever, even if I objected to it burning down. It made sense to her when she thought about it.

So, anyway, I asked her if she was offering. I wish I'd had my camera for that one. When she stopped spluttering she told me I wasn't her type. I'm a shape-shifter. I'm everyone's type. I gave her a quick demonstration. Taller, shorter, broader, different colours for hair, skin and eyes, you know, the basics. I even managed to keep the jokes down. Then she looks away and tells me I'm too old for her. She turned back when I asked if she'd prefer me now in a higher voice than usual. She was not amused when she saw my fourteen-year-old self standing there. I was. I love shape-shifting. The pranking possibilities are endless.

Then I had to explain to her, again, that I'm a ghost teenager. The exact thing she's been since before I was born. Calling her an old woman is something no-one else should try. I couldn't help myself though, she's cute when she's angry. Naturally, I had to wait for her to stop attacking me again. So she looked me over like it was the first time, made a noise like she was considering it and asked if I can change the one place that counts. I can, by the way. I told her she wouldn't be disappointed and kissed her.

Fortunately for me, she kissed back rather than decide my head was finally in range.

Epilogue

Danny and Ember flew up to the door of the rocker's lair. They kissed as they walked in. As their hands roamed over each other, Danny backed off.

"Seriously, Baby-pop, what's up with that? You're the one who promised I wouldn't be disappointed!" Ember yelled. She was getting really ticked off with the way he kept stopping over the months. She turned around and took a few steps away. The white haired teen moved closer and put a hand on her shoulder.

"To you I did surrender, Two weeks you didn't call," he recited. When she turned to look at him curiously, he wrapped his arms around her. "In both worlds, you're one of four people who know how good an actor I really am. I want you to know I'm not going anywhere."

Her eyes widened, before she snorted. "You don't have it in you to run," she told him as she pulled him down to kiss him again. This time she wasn't letting him make any excuses.

6 Months Later

The fire-haired musician entered her lair after finishing her latest world tour.

"So, how was Japan?" Danny asked, coming over to greet her.

"It was great, gave me lots of ideas," she answered, leaning into him.

"Oh really? We're not going to need to find you a schoolgirl outfit, are we?" She cuffed him in the back of the head. She found it a lot easier to reach in moments like that.

"I guess that only leaves one question then," he said, his lop-sided smile turning into a smirk the diva was quickly getting used to.

"What would that be?" Ember teased before various extra appendages started sprouting from Danny's sides.

"Plant or octopus?"


End file.
